Chapter 94 - Amusement Park (2)

Rina's friends surrounded Liam, laughing and talking with him while Liam being Liam, entertained them with his easy charm. Aki looked away as he put his hands in his pockets, seemingly unperturbed with all this.

"What's the plan now? What are we going to do?" Aki asked, looking away.

Rina followed his line of sight. "I'll get them--"

Aki pulled back his sister. "Let them. Let's just, uh, get this over with." He turned on his heels and headed to the nearest ride.

The tickets they got were an all-access one, giving them unlimited choices. Aki used to like amusement parks. Once he got older though, he preferred strolling than riding. But, apparently, the younger ones wanted to try all kinds of rides. They were so eager, looking around with excited faces and arguing among themselves which ride they should try first. Not even the most extreme ride could dampen their spirits.

Instead of joining in on the fun, Aki opted to act as their chaperone, their photographer, their personal baggage counter. Liam offered to change positions with him or sit out to join him but of course, the girls would not let Liam. Aki waved him off and gave the rest of the group, in what he hoped, a sweet smile as they boarded to yet another ride. He just could not summon the energy to have fun today.

"Let's try the ferris wheel next! Let's go in pairs!" Grace said excitedly as though she not ridden the rollercoaster a few minutes ago.

"Alright! Let's choose our pairing by rock-paper-scissors! And join us this time Aki," Anna said.

Aki wanted to object to the idea but one swift look at his sister and Liam told him that any resistance was futile. They were both giving him a pleading look and that was his weakness especially if it came from his favorites.

By some stroke of luck, Aki ended up with Rina while Liam was paired with Grace and Anna with Noah. Grace was the only one happy with the result.

They got to their cart one by one. Once they settled, the inside was devoid of any noise. Rina was quiet with a frown on her face. Aki was no better. He leaned his head on the glass panel, looking outside. He loved high places like this but he could not enjoy them at the moment. He was tired and dreary.

The entire day, his eyes followed Liam and there he realized that his roommate treated everyone equally. He was kind and friendly, always attentive. The perfect gentleman. Even with Noah who kept on giving him a sour face. That was just the way with Liam.

It meant that those small movements that he showed at Aki were normal. Liam would do it to everybody else. So maybe Aki was interpreting his roommate's actions and twisting them to fit his liking. He was just being foolish again.

'There are only two options: either I stop this or I tell him… and then ruin our friendship?' He shook his head. Or maybe he could tell to Liam and then they stop being friends for a while until Aki sorted his feelings? Would Liam still want him then? He sighed. None of them looked plausible. Oddly enough, he felt like he had gone through this kind of argument against himself before.

"That was a deep sigh," Liam said.

Aki whipped his head beside him and realized that the other four were quite ahead of them. He vaguely remembered agreeing on getting something to eat. He looked back at Liam's worried face. 'Don't care too much about me. Or else I'll really fall in love with you.'

Liam touched him on the pinky finger ever so slightly that Aki was startled when he felt that. It seemed like their hands casually brushed as they walked but Aki could tell that it was a deliberate move. Liam was still looking at him with that worried gaze. "Are you okay? Are you not feeling well? Should we go home?"

"I'm fine. Besides it's not every day that we get this place all to ourselves." Aki gave his roommate a small smile in an attempt to assure the other guy. "I'm fine really."

Liam gave him a tentative smile and nodded. After a while, his expression changed. "Aki, come here for a sec," Liam pulled him aside as Aki dumbly followed. "Stand near the railings."

Aki realized that they reached the part of the small man-made pond with benches and picnic tables near it. There were also some food stalls nearby as this was a resting place for the people. Following Liam's instructions, Aki stood before the pond, frowning at his roommate. Liam fiddled at his phone and just when Aki thought of going over to Liam's side, the other guy pointed the phone's camera at him and pressed the button on the screen.

"Hey!"

"Aki smile for me please." When Aki remained frowning, Liam said, "You're the only one who hadn't gotten a solo picture today. I want to take one."

Without waiting for Aki to answer, Liam started taking Aki's photos again, one after another, with all kinds of angle and distance.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Aki was laughing with how ridiculous they must have looked. "You're taking a ridiculous amount of shots! If you're going to take my picture, take one properly." He leaned on the railings, giving Liam his best smile as though he was only teasing but he was truly enjoying this moment.

Liam did not shoot right away, staring at Aki, perhaps surprised by the sudden change of mood. He looked stunned. Dazed.

Aki took in that mellowed look on Liam's face and he felt himself blushing. To be the receiver of that kind of look was not good for his heart. He coughed lightly, just so he could find a reason to hide his face. "If you're not going to take, then let's go. I'm starving."

Liam straightened up as if awakened by Aki's words. "No! One more!"

"Alright," Aki said, posing the same way again and Liam took way more than necessary. Then an idea hit Aki. 'Just this once, let me be selfish.'

"Come on, enough with me." Aki took out his phone and waved it at Liam, despite feeling his intense blush. "Let's take a picture together."